


POWER RANGERS: Owl Force

by The_Mad_Dragon



Category: Power Rangers, The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Power Rangers Fusion, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29974473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Mad_Dragon/pseuds/The_Mad_Dragon
Summary: Luz Noceda's life comes crashing down around her as the Titanic Empire invades the human realm. As she falls into the role of the Red Ranger, can she stay on top of the monsters, high school, magic, and romance coming at her from all sides? And could the Owl Lady stop flirting with her mom for longer than two minutes? Who knows?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Camila Noceda
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	POWER RANGERS: Owl Force

A/N: For clarification, this takes place in an AU where there were no Ranger teams after Power Rangers In Space.

O.O.O.O.O.O

It was a beautiful day in the park as Camila and Luz Noceda pulled in riding an old Harley-Davidson that seemed to be held together with duct tape and willpower. The mother and daughter duo eventually came to sputtering stop near a idyllic spot overlooking a cliff with a large tree with hanging branches. The birds chirped as the sun began to rise over the city.

"Okay, we're here!" Luz exclaimed as she hopped off the bike and took off her helmet. "What'd you want to do, _Mami?"_

Camila wheeled the motorcycle near a tree and put the kickstand down and unbuckled her own helmet and hung it on the handle. "Not so much as 'do,' per se. I just wanted to talk."

Luz practically froze in place and wracked her brain for anything she had done wrong in the last twenty-four hours. "A-about what?"

Camila rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb towards the bike's saddle bags. Luz, taking the hint, skipped over to haul out the picnic basket and blanket that her mother had prepared the previous night. "You're not in trouble. I just wanted some nice family time with you."

"Oh, okay." Luz visibly relaxed. "... What kind of family talk?"

Camila sighed heavily as she dug into the picnic basket as her daughter laid the giant towel on the grass. "We can talk about anything, _carino_. This is just supposed to be quality time."

Luz's expression lit up.

Camila's expression flattened. "Anything that isn't anime. Or video games. Or fantasy novels."

Luz brightened and was about to say something when her mother cut her off.

"Manga counts as anime."

Luz frowned and decided that was not a hill she felt like dying on today. Then a slow grin spread across her face as an idea came to her. "Okay, _Mami._ How about when you grew up in Angel Grove?"

"I did this to myself..." Camila sighed. "Luz, I only saw, like, fifteen giant monster battles. Not a lot for back then. _And_ I was a little girl back then."

"Yeah, _but_ you got to grow up back when there were _Power Rangers!_ " Luz exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "The costumes! The cool weapons! The giant robots! The weirdly bloodless ultra-violence! It must have been so great!"

Camila rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't call constantly having to rush to monster-shelters exciting. More like... well... okay, after a while it was more _annoying_ than terrifying." She began to lay out the food. "You should be thankful you never had to go through all that. Whatever the Rangers did twenty years ago to make the attacks stop has given us all a blessed life. No more monsters, and no more warlords from beyond our world to clash with brightly clad super heroes."

And that was when the sky tore open and a giant floating continent ripped into reality, changing the bright and sunny day into an overcast of red clouds and purple lightning.

It was really a rather rude way to contradict poor Camila when all she wanted was a nice day with her daughter.

"M-Mom?" Luz whispered quietly as she backed away from the scene and into her mother. She felt her mom's arms clasp around her. It was no illusion. They were both seeing it.

The floating continent stretched as far as the eye could see- _literally_ as far as their eyes could see- in both directions. The rising sun was soon eclipsed by the impossible land mass. From the edges came hundreds- no- thousands of small black shapes, descending on the world below.

Camila jerked Luz back toward the bike. "We're leaving!"

"Where? Home is under that thing!" Luz asked as she let herself be pulled by her mother.

"Anywhere else! We'll move to the other side of the country if we have to!" Camila panic whispered as she attempted to get the bike started, which was proving... difficult. She growled and said. "Get our things. We may need food for the journey. Blanket, too. I'll try and get this thing started again."

As Luz rushed back and gathered their stuff, Camila focused on getting the motor running again, saying many inappropriate things under her breath that she thought Luz couldn't hear. Just as Luz had everything wrapped up and ready to go, she couldn't help but notice that a bunch of the dark shapes from the floating continent were getting closer. She gulped, and booked it back to her mother. "Mom? We need to go faster!" She said urgently.

"I'm trying!" Camila growled as toyed with the ignition. _"¡Trabaja, estúpido y oxidado pedazo de basura!"_

Luz risked another look backward as she jammed their things into the saddle bag and hopped on. An action that only confirmed her fears. "Mom. The flying things are coming our way." She said with a calm she did not feel.

Camila jerked her head backward and saw that her daughter was not wrong. She snarled and brought her fist down on the side of the ancient bike. The engine sputtered to life. "Helmet. Now." She grabbed hers off the handle as Luz buckled hers on. She winced as fondled the strap with the hand she hit the bike with.

"Uh, Mom?" Luz tugged on her jacket.

"Right!" Camila breathed and accelerated as quickly as she was comfortable with, seeing as how her daughter was onboard.

Luz risked another look back, and her eyes widened. She could see clearly now that they were a dozen large winged creatures with humanoid riders on their backs, and that wasn't the worst of it. "Mom! They spotted us!"

"OH, COME ON!" Camila yelled and accelerated faster.

It wasn't fast enough. Soon, the winged beasts and their riders were over them and close enough that Luz could make out what they looked like. The first word that came to her mind was _griffons._ And that was the right word because that was _clearly_ what they were. Giant winged bird-cats that may or may not breathe spiders. Luz hoped she would live long enough to give the biggest _'I Told You So'_ speech in her school's statistically substandard home room class.

Atop the griffons were lightly armored figures in black and grey uniforms with silver bird masks. The uniforms looked like they were designed to look menacing, but were too bland to fully induce such a reaction. Like a mall cop with a battle-axe.

"ATTENTION CITIZENS!" One of the riders voices boomed out drowning out everything else, even over the sound of the wind and the motorcycle. "CONGRATULATIONS! YOUR WORLD IS NOW THE PROPERTY OF THE TITANIC EMPIRE, AND IS NOW BEING REALM MERGED WITH ALL OTHER CONQUERED WORLDS! YOUR MILITARY HAS BEEN DISABLED, AND YOUR WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MODERN ART PIECES. NOW PLEASE PULL OVER SO THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE FREE ENTRY INTO YOUR NEAREST COVENIENT RE-EDUACATION CAMP!"

"NONE OF THAT SOUNDS APPEALING!" Luz shouted back.

"COMPLIANCE IS APPRECIATED!" The lead rider announced as he pulled out a glowing sword. "BUT NOT STRICTLY NECESSARY!"

Then he swung the blade horizontally... and a wave of red energy was cast forward almost faster than she could see, and collided with the road ahead of the Nocedas.

Camila screamed, lost control, and both mother and daughter were thrown... and red bubbles formed around them, trapping them in a strangely stretchy interior.

As the bike skidded to a halt, the griffons circled around them, taking up a relaxed stance. "OKAY, BAG 'EM AND- OH, DANGIT, THE SPELL'S STILL ON. SORRY." The leader made traced a golden glowing circle around his throat that flashed out of existence as soon as it was complete. "Better. Bag 'em and tag 'em boys. Word has it this world's got seven billion people, so we got a lot more work ahead of us. Every continental conquering force's implementing a quota-"

The other riders groaned in unison.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." The leader waved off. "But fortunately for us, unlike the last world, these people can't spit flaming acid." There was a momentary pause as he turned to their captives. "Right?"

"No! But we have an indomitable spirit!" Luz proudly announced in the bubble as she kept trying to pop it with her fists.

The leader shrugged. "Yeah, uh huh. That's what the centaurs said too, but that didn't work out so great for _them."_

"Let us go!" Camila yelled, thoroughly entering a higher level of panic. "We've done nothing to you!"

"Yeesh, it's just our job, lady. Don't take it so pers-" The leader halted mid-speech and quickly swirled his head skyward. "Did anyone else hear that?"

The riders nodded and began to huddle into a defensive formation around their captives. Soon enough, Luz and Camila heard a whistling sound through the air accompanied by... hooting?

The leader readied his weapon. "Get on the scroll. Call in the heavies. It's _her."_

There was a tense moment as one of the riders pulled out a strange little device that looked like both scroll and smartphone while the rest kept swiveling their heads looking for danger. Then the noise stopped. For the first time, one of the other riders spoke up. "Did she... leave?"

He and his griffon were the first to get eaten by the giant wooden owl tube that erupted from the ground.

The rest cursed and shouted and opened fire at the monstrosity by making more little glowing circles with their fingers, causing little fireballs to crash into it. "Get in the air!" The leader shouted. "She's coming from below!"

And then there was a loud cackling from above. "I'm really not!"

Everyone's attention snapped upward where a tall, grey-haired woman with pointed ears and an even pointier golden fang luxuriated on floating staff with a flapping owl statue attached. Her dress was red, her teeth were barred in a feral smile, and her look was on _point._ "Hi."

Then she drew a large glowing circle in the air and a giant pillar of green flame descended faster than a New Years dieting resolution after encountering a cheap bakery where the bread is _just_ fresh. The scramble away from it's fury only led to more panic on the riders behalf. A few were struck and careened into the tree line by the road.

The strange woman drew a few more glowing circles and three more giant wooden bird-tubes erupted from the ground. The riders loudly swore as they drew little circles of their own, but was all for nothing as the plant monsters consumed three more of their number. Their chances to rally and overcome this threat were dwindling rapidly.

"Get her!" The leader shouted before a green lightning bolt struck down from one of the woman's circles and sent him careening into the ground.

It was when she saw the lady grin widen and draw several more circles was when Luz decided she in fact did not want to see anymore horrible magic-slaughter, and shut her eyes tight and waited for it to be over. It was one thing to watch the people that threatened her and her mother to go down, but the poor griffons? With their widdle faces and kitty paws? Nope. Couldn't do it.

There were terrible sounds of rending, tearing, burning, and swallowing as Luz waited it out. Sounds she would most likely never be able to talk to with a mental health professional, because f _irst,_ the insurance system in the country was broken horrifyingly broken. And _secondly,_ said professionals were probably being sent to re-education camps manned by invaders from beyond reality.

Then... there was silence. After a moment, it was broken by the strange woman's voice. "Okay, that's over and done with! Show of hands, ladies, who wants out?"

Luz opened her eyes and saw the stranger standing over them, staff held like a spear. She and her mother obliged and raised their hands, both of them too overwhelmed for words at the moment. Their rescuer grinned and stabbed Luz's bubble prison first and then her mothers. Both of them plopped to the ground after the spheres were popped.

"Th-thank you." Camila's voice shook at first, but managed to steady. "We owe you our lives. but... but _what is going on?"_

The woman threw her staff behind her, which stopped in mid air below her waist and hovered in place. She promptly sat on it, folded her hands in her lap and looked to the two with a near-apologetic look. "Yeah, okay. Short version? My world of magic and monsters is invading your world and adding it to the big collection of other worlds we've conquered. Sorry. I'd stop it if I could, but I'm not in charge, nor do the authorities look kindly on me."

Camila breathed in deep, sighed, and adjusted her glasses. "... Okay. Yeah. That makes sense."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Huh, you're taking this rather well."

"Not the first time our world's been invaded." Camila replied flatly.

"Yeah, back in the day, our planet used to have the equivalent of a big 'kick me' sign." Luz spoke up, taking the opportunity to lighten the mood from the terrifying run in with the invaders. "The Power Rangers kicked them back even harder though. They taught us about it in history class."

The woman's eyes widened. "This world has Rangers? Hot dang, you just might not be ultra-screwed after all."

"Not anymore," Camila waved off. "That was decades ago. There was some huge fight against an army of evil, then a giant energy wave that wiped them all out, and then the Rangers stopped showing up."

"Well, you're pretty badly off then. Again, sorry about your doomed homeworld." The woman gave a sympathetic smile, which perked up almost immediately. "But I can help you out at least a little bit! Allow me to properly introduce myself."

"Uh-"

The woman, _somehow,_ yanked out a large wooden slab out of her voluminous hair and unfolded it into a long table in front of her. A cloth with a host of trinkets big and small unfurled and popped into existence atop it. With a flourish and roguish grin, she proclaimed, "I am Eda, the Owl Lady! The most powerful witch on hundred and one worlds- _including this one-_ and provider of fine invasion survival goods!"

Luz and her mother took a short look at each other. The conversation had taken an unexpected turn from horrible invasion to _sales pitch._

"Now, let me run through my little routine before you decide what you two want to buy." Eda guided their attention with one hand toward the right of the table which held a stack of pamphlets. "Over here, we have your basic survival guides! There's the emotionally supportive 'So The Veil Between Your World and Ours Has Been Eternally Sundered.' The essential 'It's Not Cannibalism if They're a Different Species Than You: A Cookbook.' And my personal favorite, 'How Dodge Patrols and Survive a Magical Invasion.'"

"You're... a saleswoman?" Camila's mouth twitched, unable to entirely resist the Owl Lady's charm.

"That I am, gorgeous!" Eda grinned, her gold fang glinting in the morning light. "My specialty is going to whatever world the Empire invades and try to help the locals get by! For a fee of course."

"That's nice." Camila put on her talking-to-customer-service smile and whispered to Luz. "You can look, but don't commit to anything. We don't know what this will cost."

Luz, attention already lost in the inventory, stared wide eyed at at a colorful book set tied together with a string. "Is that magical girl manga? From another world?! _Need!"_

Eda, knowing she had a guaranteed customer, smiled evilly. "And who is this with you?" She threw her arm out and gestured toward Luz and gently elbowed Camila in the forearm with the other. "Is this your little sister? Out to enjoy the day with you before the terrible demon soldiers ruined literally everything?"

Camila, like all mothers who get hit with the 'oh, you look young enough for your child to look to be your sibling instead' line, found her resistance sundered beyond repair by the charm. She laughed and waved her hand at the witch. "No, no. This is my daughter Luz. I'm Camila."

"Nooo," Eda drawled, faking surprise. "You look far too young to be anything less than... whatever age is young adult for humans!"

"True." Camila laughed again, but her smile soon fell as she shuffled a bit awkwardly. "But, I hate to disappoint you, but you don't have much of sale here. I sincerely doubt we have any kind of currency that you would accept."

"Oh... right." Luz's expression dropped, and turned to the the table sorrowfully. "Goodbye manga, I guess it wasn't meant to be..."

Eda held up her hands to stop her customers from leaving. "Now, now! I wouldn't be trying to sell you anything if I didn't think you had anything worthwhile! How do you feel about a _trade?"_

Camila's smile was considerably more strained. "Just as long as it doesn't involve giving up my firstborn."

Eda looked confused. "What would I do with a firstborn?"

"Teach her magic and take her on adventures?" Luz added hopefully.

 _"Mija."_ Camila replied in full Mom Voice.

"Any knick-knacks and little treasures will do." Eda cut in, steering the conversation back to her own personal gain. "There's quite the market for souvenirs from all over the conquered worlds. People are curious about people, and they want their stuff to be _their_ stuff!"

Camila blinked, reached inside her pocket and yanked a metal keychain of a purple and green cartoon dog off her keys. "I have this."

Eda's eye dilated and snatched it out of her hands. "Kitsch-y, adorable, colorful, and shiny. That'll get you the pamphlets and the man-ga whatevers."

Luz, eyes sparkling as she pulled the items to herself, was quick to try their luck. "What about stuff with magic?"

"Luz, I don't think that's-" Camila started before Eda interrupted her.

"Well, kiddo, that's a bit pricier." Eda's smile fell a bit. "I mean, I love good junk, but I can't let that kinda stuff go for free. Magical items take time and energy to make."

"What _would_ you trade for them for?" Luz asked with a frown.

"I dunno." Eda shrugged, looked over their shoulders and raised an eyebrow. Pointing at the old Harley behind them, she asked, "Maybe that thing? What is that?"

"Our motorcycle?" Camila blinked and looked behind her. "That's just what we ride around on. When it works."

"It looks like an elaborate suicide device." Eda replied, poking the ancient motorcycle.

Camila raised a finger to protest, then stopped and considered. "... Generally speaking, you're not wrong."

Luz whispered to her mom excitedly, "Maybe we could trade it? It barely works, and maybe she has a magic flying carpet for sale!"

"No." Camila said flatly. "I stabbed your father in the hand so I could keep that thing."

"But magi- WAIT, WHAT?!" Luz exclaimed, leaning backward in shock.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Camila dismissed, and turned her attention back to Eda. "Now, I have a whole host of bits and bobs back at our home, but I would need a guarantee that we could get there safely..."

Luz, still reeling from that little revelation, soon found herself leaning on the table trying to process what her mother just revealed. As her hand supported her weight, she felt something brush against her hand. Looking down, she had touched what looked like a much smaller version of Eda's staff. There was a tinier, more sleek looking red and gold version of the Owl figurine on a little pedestal attached to what looked like a wand in the same colors. As Luz took it in her hand, she felt a... spiritual kind of warmth emanating from it. Like a warm campfire on a freezing cold night in the forest.

Luz shook her head. It was a strange thought. While she had went camping occasionally on school field trips, she had certainly never gone anywhere _cold._ It was almost like... someone else's memory.

"I wanna trade for this!" She found herself saying, holding out the wand to Eda. "How much?"

"-and we're gonna have to be clear on what kinda body count for the guardsmen you're okay wiiiii- _where did you get that?"_ Eda's negotiation came to a careening halt to as she saw just what was in Luz's hand.

"It was just on the table." Luz shrugged, unconsciously clutching the wand tighter. "I can trade for it. I got tons of weird stuff at home."

"Sorry, but no." Eda shook her head. "I don't even know how that old thing got onto the sales stuff. It's one of the few things in my life I wouldn't _ever_ trade away. It's got a certain kinda sentimental value." Eda's eyes wrinkled with what Luz thought was... sadness before the woman stiffened and crossed her arms. "Besides... hasn't worked in decades."

Camila placed her hand on Luz's shoulder. "She understands. Just put it back, _mija."_

Luz frowned and was about to comply when she saw Eda's ears jerk sharply upward, and the witch's body language changed into a state of alertness. "Ah, farts. Don't tell me those idiots actually called in the heavies..." She murmured.

"Wh-" Camila started before Eda snatched up her table and folded it back into it's collapsed state.

"Well, ladies, it's been nice chatting and trading, but we're about to have some very unwelcome company." She said, shoving the table back into her big hair. "Please get on your death trap and get as far away from here as you can. Don't worry. It's me they want. You'll be fine... ish. Maybe."

Before either Noceda could ask what she was talking about, they heard a loud whistling in the air. Eda brought her staff up and assumed a combat stance. "Never mind. They're _way_ faster than I remember them being. I'll distract them, then you take off at soonest chance you can get."

"Who-" Luz started, but never got the chance to finish as two comets of red energy crashed into the ground, sending dirt and asphalt spraying everywhere. It was a rotten day for interruptions all around. Rather rude of the universe, really.

"EDALYN CLAWTHORNE." Boomed a pair of voices emerging from the crater. "FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE TITANIC EMPIRE, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST. SURRENDER OR DIE."

As the dust settled, Luz could see two monstrous beings made of some sort of living black rock. They were bipedal and appeared to have their beaked heads embedded deep into their shoulders, and glowing red cracks peaked between the plates where she assumed their joints were. One had it's hands ending in to large hammers, while the other one's hand ended in four foot long blades. When they walked, it was seemed to be in perfect coordinated unison.

"Third option! You do the dying!" Eda taunted and made a large circle with her staff and slammed it into the ground. Another owl tube- bigger than all the ones from before- broke out of the ground.

The pair halted, looked at the oncoming owl construct, and pointed their arms at it. Crimson energy collected at the ends, then fired off into Eda's creation. There was a brief pause where nothing happened... and then it exploded.

"Okay. That's new." Eda blinked before she saw they had refocused on her. "Double Farts."

She twirled her staff again, creating a green dome shaped energy field just in time for them to fire off another round at her. The shots cracked against the shield, creating tiny ruptures in it. Eda groaned against the strain as they fired at it once again.

Luz felt herself being yanked away by her mother. "We're running! Now!"

Luz nodded, but looked back regretfully at the besieged Owl Lady as she let herself be dragged away. It was probably the only thing that saved their lives as she saw one of the monsters body jerk in their direction. It had noticed them and clearly decided they were a threat to be destroyed, and so it pointed it's glowing arm at them and fired.

They were sent sprawling as the shot collided into the ground between them. Luz hit the ground hard and rolled several times before she came to a painful stop. She groaned as she picked herself off the ground. _"M-Mami?"_

She saw her mother a little bit ahead of her. She quickly scampered over to check on her. She saw that her mother was groaning, but found herself more worried about how she was was bleeding from her forehead. Luz froze, not knowing what to do.

But it wasn't as if the world was going to allow her the time to get her act together, since the surrounding environment once again began to light up red, as the monsters prepared to fire once more. Luz hooked her mother's arm over her shoulder and tried to drag her up, but knew deep inside she would never get out of the way in time. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes... and braced herself for the end.

... An end that never came. As Luz tried to move her mother away from the shot, the form of Eda suddenly crumpled over them. Eyes wide, she saw the witch's side was singed. It didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"Did you just take the hit for us?" She asked, her eyes wide.

Eda, grimacing and groaning in pain, managed a sad smile as she eyed the old red wand in Luz's hand. "Old habits, kid. Be warned, sometimes they die real hard. Now... run. Please."

Eda got off the both of them, and readied her staff to face the slowly approaching monsters.

"What about you?!" Luz demanded as Camila's barely conscious form tried to stay upright.

Eda laughed. "Oh, I'm pretty screwed, but I've hit rock bottom with these guys before, so luckily I know the way back up. Now... get your mother on that mechanical horror and go."

The two monsters, seeing most of the fight taken out of their foes, advanced unbothered by the concept of any further resistance.

Luz looked sadly at the Owl Lady before she hauled her mother to the bike and tried very hard not to look like a target for the rock beasts. It wasn't fair, she thought. It wasn't fair that the world was being invaded by an evil Empire from beyond their universe. It wasn't fair her mom and Eda got hurt. It wasn't fair they'd have to probably run for the rest of their lives. And it wasn't fair that Eda was either going to be captured or killed just after showing them some kindness on a truly awful day.

"I wish I could fix this." She whispered, water brimming at her eyes.

 **"THEN FIX IT."** Said a voice that echoed throughout her mind... and her hand?

Luz's attention jerked toward the wand, somehow in all the confusion, she had just... held on to it. The little red owl figurine's eyes were glowing red. "Did-"

**"SAVE HER. SAVE YOUR MOTHER. SAVE THE WORLD. SAVE** _**ALL** _ **THE WORLDS. THE POWER IS YOURS. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS... SAY THE WORDS."**

Luz was about to ask what words those were... and then suddenly they filled every thought in her head. She shrugged mother gently to the ground and turned to face the monsters, wand out.

"Kid! What're you doing?! I told you to RUN!" Eda snapped at her gripping the her staff tightly.

Luz's path was not to be deterred. Walking forward with purpose, she waved the wand and shouted. _"Red Star Owl, burning bright in the night!"_

Eda's mouth dropped open. _"What_ did you just-"

And then...

And then everything became _**RED.**_

At first there was a burning sensation all over her body that faded into something smooth and comforting. It was like being wrapped in very warm suit. Then something clamped over her head, and the field of red dispersed.

"Huh... There's something I never thought I'd see again..." She heard Eda mutter.

The two monsters halted, exchanged a look and spoke in unison again. "POWER RANGER IDENTIFIED. THREAT LEVEL: ALPHA."

Luz's eyes boggled and she looked around excitedly. "Power Ranger?! Where?!"

She heard Eda sigh loudly. "Look down, kid."

Luz obliged, and found she was wearing a bright red shiny suit, with white pirate-style gloves and boots, a white and gold diamond shaped collar, a white belt with a golden owl head for a buckle that held up a red skirt with gold trim. The whole outfit was pretty cute, in Luz's humble opinion. She reached up and felt that she was wearing some kind of pointy bird shaped helmet that had an open beak serving as a visor. She was tempted to take it off and get a better look, _but oh yeah monsters._

Said monsters appeared to be more wary. One turned away, gathered red energy around itself, and shot back into the sky, _far_ away from the battlefield. The one with hammers for arms remained and boomed out, "DIVIDE. CONQUER. SECURE."

"Uh," Luz dropped into what she _thought_ could pass as a martial arts pose. "G-good thing for your buddy he decided to run! You might want to do the same!"

The monster replied with a red energy blast right at her. Luz flailed and sidestepped out of the way.

Eda dashed forward, made a circle, and a river of green flame erupt at the monster, forcing it to take several steps back as it tanked the damage. Pardon the gamer lingo.

"Careful! That suit can only take a few of those shots!" Eda yelled out as she made smaller glowing circles that that sent little green fireballs that peppered the monster's rock-like hide, keeping it's attention divided.

"Okay!" Luz replied wracking her brain for what to do next. "Power Ranger. _Okay._ Uh, how do I make the cool weapons come out?"

Right on cue, a pair of red wings appeared with a flash of red energy from her suit. Connecting from up her belt to her armpits, and down her arms to her wrists, they were made of the same material as the suit, as well as a whole host of bladed metal 'feathers.' Luz blinked, and somehow _instantly_ knew how they worked. "Hey, Eda! Get down!"

Eda, not one to miss a beat, disengaged with the monster and dodged out of the way. Luz grinned, flapped her wings, and every single one of the dozens of metal feathers flew out toward the monster.

Every single one of them missed and stabbed the ground around it. The rock monster looked around itself, confused as to what this was supposed to accomplish.

Luz groaned. "Sorry! I thought that would wo-"

"GIVE IT A SECOND!" Eda yelled and booked it away from the scene.

Luz was about to ask what for, when _every single one of the feathers exploded._

Luz saw the monster knocked down to it's knees as large sections of it's hide was blasted off, exposing more glowing red inner material to the air.

"Huh." Luz blinked.

"Good shot, now finish it off!" Eda congratulated as she jogged up to her and gave an encouraging shoulder pat.

"Sure, um, just let me see if I can find a menu in here..." Luz tapped the helmet, hoping that would help her find some more options.

Eda rolled her eyes and thumped the new Ranger on the helmet's upper beak. "Just use your instincts, feel around, and listen to the voice in your head." Her eyes narrowed in darkened expression. "Except for dating. _Never_ listen to it's dating advice."

"Uh, sure. Mysterious voice? You still there?" She asked as she backed up a couple steps, Luz felt her foot bump into something hard. She took a look back, she saw it was her mother's motorcycle. A strange electrical sensation came all over her Ranger suit as she heard the voice from before once again.

**"THIS WILL DO."**

Red lightning arced from her foot into the ancient, barely functional Harley, and instead of exploding as any sane cause-and-effect would have, the bike... changed. The frame warped, twisted, and changed colors like a bad 3D effect. It morphed from an old clunker to a sharp, aerodynamic red motorcycle with a stylized owl shaped frame. A dark premonition struck Luz.

"Oh, Mom's gonna _hate_ this..." She whispered to herself as she climbed aboard the freshly made... Owl Cycle. Any feelings of apprehension were quickly banished however, as she felt the rush of power flow up from the motorcycle. A giddy feeling came over her as she revved the throttle a little. "Okay, she does this all the time. How hard could it be? Just like riding a bike, right?"

"You'd better hope so, 'cause our unwanted visitor is starting to snap out of it." Eda pointed at the monster that was lumbering back to it's feet. She slapped Luz on the back and said, "Get to it!"

Startled, Luz accidentally accelerated forward- which saved her some pain, as the monster shot another red blast at her. It was noticeably smaller and weaker than the others, and even wobbled in it's trajectory. As it missed Eda and her, it would eventually hit something several miles away. That something being the Porsche belonging to the principal of Luz's high school, which he purchased by massively embezzling school funding. That's life for ya.

Fortunately for her, Luz found her bearings and got the Owl Cycle under control. Eyeing the monster, her mind was suddenly filled with what strange voice wanted. Luz grinned. "Okay, that's cool as heck. Let's _go!"_

Steering toward the monster, she twisted the accelerator to full speed. The monster waited until she got close enough to itself before it swung at her with both it's hammer fists. Missing by an inch, she zoomed past it. Which was fine by Luz, because for this next trick she need some _speed._

Turning slightly, she began to _literally_ run circles around the rock beast. The monster attempted to level another shot at her, but couldn't get a bead due to how fast she was moving. As she went faster and faster, ethereal red flames began to form around the Owl Cycle and it's rider. As they trailed over and off her, they leaked onto the ground behind them, creating a ring of fire around their foe. Finally, Luz jerked sharply into the circle, the flames blossoming into the form of a great fiery red owl.

 _"Red Star Owl STRIKER!"_ Luz yelled out as she rode the Cycle directly into the rock monster.

There was, suitably, a big explosion as the thing finally died.

"WOOO!" Luz whooped as she rode out of the blast undamaged, bringing the bike to a halt. "OHMYGOSHTHATWASSOCOOL!"

"Yeah, yeah." Eda sighed heavily and leaned on her staff, clearly still feeling a bit hurt from the blow she had suffered earlier. "Why don't you go check on your Mom, huh? I'll catch my breath real quick."

"My Mom?" Luz asked, clearly coming down from the adrenaline before she managed to re-focus. _"Mami!"_

She hopped off the motorcycle, unbuckled the helmet off her head, and ran over to wear her mother lay. Camila, while still breathing, seemed to be in the same rough shape she was in when Luz left her. Thankfully, the battle had not come close to hurting her any worse than she already was. Luz then tried shaking her mother awake.

 _"Mami?!_ Can you wake up?! Are you concussed?! Are you allowed to move concussed people?!" She demanded in a panic. "I can't remember! I'm blanking!"

Camila only groaned, only dimly aware of being shaken and shouted at.

"Ah, dang it." Eda grimaced as she hobbled over and looked over Camila. She reached into her hair and took out a clear bottle filled with glowing red liquid. "Well, I normally save this stuff for emergencies, but your mom isn't as durable as I am. Here's hoping this doesn't cause a horrible mutation! Bottoms up!"

Luz could only stare as Eda uncorked the bottle with her teeth, closed her mother's nostrils with her other hand, and dumped the contents into her mouth. Camila jerked awake, sputtering and coughing. Eda nodded with a relieved smile, and downed the rest of the contents for herself.

"You... you," Camila moaned as she sat upright and rubbed her head, where the wound on her forehead seemed to be rapidly closing. "You keep the patient very still and wait for help to come, _mija._ You also try to keep them from falling unconscious."

Luz breathed a sigh of relief, and was about to ask just _what_ Eda had given her mother, when she felt herself being poked in the shoulder. She looked back down to see a very confused expression on her mother's face. "Luz... why are you wearing a Vegas showgirl's idea of a Power Ranger outfit?"

"'Cause she _is_ a Power Ranger now." Eda cut in, picking up Luz's helmet off the ground where she left it. She flipped it around and looked at it with a bemused expression for a long moment. She smiled, gave a short, sharp laugh and tossed it to Luz. "Congrats kid, you're a living target now."

"What." Camila stated more then asked. Hence the period.

"Uh, y'know that wand thing I was holding before?" Luz rubbed the back of her head.

"My old morphing wand." Eda added with a shrug. "Thought the thing was dead. Looks like it liked your kid enough to wake back up."

"You're a Power Ranger." Camila asked her daughter.

"Looks like." Luz smiled nervously.

"Bad people are going to come after her, aren't they?" Camila asked Eda.

"Oh, yeah." Eda nodded.

"... Am I being punished for something?" Camila asked the universe.

Luz gently took her mother's hand and guided her attention to what _used_ to be her Harley. "And, uh, I'm not the only thing that changed."

Camila blinked. "That is the tackiest bike I've ever seen. Where did it come from?"

Luz laughed, bracing herself emotionally. "It's your Harley! After I... magically transformed it."

The blood drained from her mother's face. "No."

"Yeah..." Luz averted her eyes.

 _"No."_ Camila shook her head, willing reality _itself_ to make this not so.

"Yep!" Eda confirmed. "And from personal experience, I can even tell you that this is _super_ permanent."

"It doesn't even look like my Harley anymore." Camila said, looking horrified at the garish Owl Cycle. "It looks a toy bike with a bird shell..."

"I know!" Luz beamed. "Isn't it cool? It's not _that_ bad, right?"

Camila leveled a half-hearted glare at her daughter. _"Luz Alejandra Noceda._ I love you more than life itself, but _you take that back right now."_

Eda coughed into her hand, diverting Camila's attention and saving Luz from a the longest sentence of being grounded in human history. "Anyway, we should all get out of here. I think the other rock guy went to gather some serious help. We can get it into the nitty gritty of your kids Ranger powers later."

"Right, we should go ho-" Camila caught herself, looked back to where the floating continent hovered in the sky ominously, and sighed. "... We need to find a new home."

Eda grimaced. "Well... I guess you two'll need a place to stay, seeing as how you just became the Empire's Most Wanted." She rolled her shoulders and got on her staff, ready to take off. "Fortunately for you both, my house has room. You should be safe there."

"Yes. Thank you." Camila breathed out slowly, she slowly stood up with Luz's help and looked very tired. "Someplace safe. Where we can rest. And nap. A very long, and very nice nap. Yes. Maybe when I wake up, this will all have been a terrible dream."

"Hop on." Eda gestured to her, then pointed at Luz. "You can fly the death trap, just follow us."

Luz blinked and gave an unsure thumbs up. "Yes. Fly the bike. Because I know how to do that. Sure."

Eda rolled her eyes. "Ranger junk is primarily thought based. Controls are usually just there as a mental aid. Did you think about making the wings before you used your them, or did you just do it?"

Luz bit her lip and brought her attention back to the bike before her mother said, _"Helmet, mija..."_

Luz, noting how tired her mother sounded, nodded and obeyed without objection as she buckled her Ranger helmet back on. Camila got on the back of Eda's staff, and wrapped her arms around the witch's waist. She looked apprehensive, but was far too _done_ with the day to give much her much grief.

Eda turned her head back and gave her a grin. "Hang on tight, beautiful. I don't go slow."

Camila rolled her eyes, but Luz could see that there was a slight upturn to her lips as a measure of cheer seemingly leaked out of the Owl Lady and into her mother. "Even from another world, flirting's all the same. Just fly, _Señora Búho."_

Eda gave a loud laugh and took off into the sky with Camila. Luz watched them go for a half second before she revved the engine, hoping that alone could make the transformed motorcycle fly. She frowned in concentration when nothing happened.

"C'mon, I just want to flyyyyYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as the bike took to the air burning a trail of red flames behind it, and followed Eda and her mother into the air and into the insanity that would be the rest of her life.

O.O.O.O.O.O

**ELSEWHERE**

O.O.O.O.O.O

In a throne room surrounded by lavish decorations and complex clockwork, sat a figure in white robes with gold filigree and a golden mask adorned with antlers. Above him beat a gigantic beating heart with many tubes stabbed into it. He gazed at the tiny figure that bowed before his throne with boredom. She was a small thing, with pointed ears, an odd purple hand serving as either _hat_ or _hair,_ and a white coat obscuring the rest of her features.

"A Red Ranger?" The robed man asked, his tone giving away nothing.

"Yes, great Emperor Belos." The small creature replied.

"And it wasn't the Owl Lady?" He strummed his fingers on the armrest of the throne.

"No, my liege." She shook her head. "My surviving rockling reported that Edalyn Clawthorne fought alongside the new Ranger. It appears she has given the Owl Morpher to a human adolescent."

"... Interesting." Belos seemed to decide. "Keep me appraised on the situation. You have my permission to take whatever steps you deem necessary to take the wand, Kikimora."

Kikimora looked up. "You do not wish to handle this yourself, my liege?"

Belos shook his head. "I am far too busy dealing with the assimilation of this world into unified realm space." He rose from his throne and folded his hands behind his back. "Besides, it is not as if we do not know how to deal with Rangers. Previous samples have been quite enlightening as to how the Morphing Grid interacts with natural magic."

"Understood, my Emperor." Kikimora nodded. "I shall assemble a task force right away."

He rose a hand and made a shooing motion. "You have my leave. Go."

Kikimora quickly stood and exited the throne room.

Belos relaxed back into his throne, then gestured toward a shadowy corner to his right. "Apologies, my friend. Conquering a world can be so taxing on an administrative level."

"Not to worry, your majesty." Came a raspy voice as an old pale goblinoid in a tinkerer's outfit and half-moon glasses emerged into the light. "It is genuinely a privilege to observe such competent leadership. Oh, the stories I could tell you of my previous employers..."

"Yes, Finster. I know." Belos nodded. "You have informed me many times. But what I need to know, is this the world you have so often spoken of? The once from whence you originally came?"

Finster smiled and clapped his hands together. "Why yes! After a hundred attempts, we have _finally_ located the exact realm that I escaped all those years ago."

While nothing of his face was visible from his mask, an aura of... satisfaction emanated from the Emperor. "At last. Now all that we require to create a new body for the Titan is within reach."

"Indeed." Finster replied cheerfully. "Shall I dispatch my creations and begin the search in earnest?"

Folding his hands together, Belos leaned forward and narrowed his eyes in anticipation. "Do it. Send them. Send _all_ of them. _Find the Zeo Crystal."_


End file.
